Measure What is Measurable

'...measure what is measurable and make measurable what is no so...' -Galileo

If you are learning a new tool, a new software, a new skill, a new method then always remember Galileo's rule.

Measure the measurable. whatever is being measured will improve. This is what the core of the matter. If you want improvement in your resolution or goals measure them regularly!

During my days in NAL, I was actively measuring the time I spent on the tool that I learnt there. From Matlab to Solidworks, from Nastran  to visual basic, from scripting to drawing I noted the no of hour I spend on each activity.

As no of hour I put in help me see what I was learning and it had improved my learning process a lot. It enabled me to learn many tools and have an hands on experience on many of them in the period of the time that I have spend in NAL.

So measure. I am doing the same with my declared resolutions of this year and I am glad that I am working on them till now and barring the scripting thing I am doing pretty good. Here’s the snipped of the chart of my resolution measurement.

How are your progressing on yours? measure your goals Galileo is not wrong in the above quote. It works. Not only as a motivation but this regular reviewing helps reinforce the goals that you have.

Related : Focusing on solutions than problems will go a long way in AeSI and Life

• 5 Reasons that IIT Lectures are a Boon for AeSI Students.
• When will AeSI announce june 2008 results?
• Study and Life Lessons from Natrajan Sir of GIE
• 3 Ways to Jump Start Your Semester
• AeSI exams results awaited- few tips for next semester
• Advice to AeSI students before you begin the next semester
• Why the begining of last semester of AeSI for skills development
• 6 things you should begin doing in your last semester of AeSI.
• Read the ANSYS Advantage magazine for free

Organization Success what’s the relation

Organization is the real deal. If you can organize well you can succeed in any project, any task, any assignment that you take.

Be it subject assignment, work assignment, or personal project.

Organizing is the line between success and failure. A school assignment will only come through if you take logical steps and cut the original tasks into byte sized chunks.

Same way a big requirement of client can't be done in one iteration, you need to break things up, organize them, and then divide into small chunks and execute those. Most of us stop at the first steps.

But its the guy who organizes and follows those little tasks is the one who succeed. Success is in the little steps you take, one big step is culmination of lot of small steps. So don't fail to take small steps. What ever be your project, goal or assignment remember the only way to complete or make it a success is to take it up and begin doing one small or big step at a time.

Some of the posts that I wrote taking the small steps mentioned.

• Surprises

 

• Coaching For AeSI- which one to choose
• Section A to Section B of AeSI
• 3 things that AeSI has improved in the year 2008
• 4 things I learnt from debugging
• 4 tips for handling exam anxiety during the examination
• Inertia
• Did you have any idea what AMAeSI was?
• Learn from the expert
• AeSI previous years Question papers - when should we use them?
• The Problems with AeSI degree!!!
• Prospects after AMAeSI
• Which is the best study center for AeSI?

GATE previous years papers and tips for Effective Way to Attempt GATE Paper

Yes if you are looking for gate previous year papers then this link below is your choice to be go.

http://forum.onestopgate.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=2416

Unfortunately it doesn’t contains the AE papers yet… :(  but for

ECE,CS,ME,EE,IT,PY GATE papers from year 1991 are available on this site for free. So grab…

Another link I want to share with you is about Effective Way to Attempt GATE Paper Objective Solving Tricks  the link here

and some of the general tips that I liked are

• Keep the structure of GATE in mind.
• Plan your time. Allow more time for high point value questions; reserve time at the end to review your work, and for emergencies. I'll suggest following sequence, but you can keep as per your choice:
• 2 Marks question,
• Linked questions and
• then single mark questions.
• Look the whole test over, skimming the questions and developing a general plan for your work. If any immediate thoughts come to you, jot them down in the margin
• Start with the section of the test that will yield the most points, but begin working with the easiest questions to gain time for the more difficult ones and to warm up.
• Work quickly, check your timing regularly, and adjust your speed when necessary.
• Avoid reading into the questions. When you find yourself thinking along the lines of "this is too easy; there must be a trick..." mark the question and move on to another.  Interpret questions literally.
• Mark key words in every question. To help find the key words, ask yourself WHAT, WHO, WHERE, WHEN, and HOW?

Very practical and easy to apply tips from the forum, Be sure to read all the other tips here

Read all about GATE 2009 at my AeSI

VBA tutorial missing

What am irony, a few days back I enthusiastically made this post telling you about the VBA tutorial series that I will begin utilizing the extra time I had. But it seems just after that announcement, time got sucked out of my life and this Sunday evening I am still blank with no tutorials for you.

I apologize for the delay but rest assured I will pump out some time and will begin the series, its in my mind. I do remember it. Please do have patience.

By the way till that time why don't you guys suggest me the things that you want to do with vba. Share with me what you want to learn or have seen or if you have an idea on how should I proceed then go ahead dig in the comments.

Related : Take a tool early in your AeSI days

Gate 2009 is upon us

Gate 2009 is upon us, if you are in AeSI and in the fag end stages of section B then you might be investing your lot of times in the preparation of gate.

So I thought why not remind you of a post that might help in that. Couple of months back I wrote a post on types of questions asked in gate and how to tackle them.

I think its high time for the gate aspirants to look at those questions and set their minds to the question patterns. This will enable your mind to get used to the questions and the pattern they will follow.

This time many AeSI folks complained that questions in AeSI were ill set and didn't looked anything like the previous years, at least in gate, we AeSI folks don't have this problem. We know the pattern and as I already discussed here gate questions are rooted in basics and its application so during this last days concentrate on the basics!

Don't mug formulas, derive them. Understand the concepts, Draw graphs and diagrams and most importantly discuss. These are some of the ways to get the best of the time you have got till the GATE 2009 on 8th February.  Good luck!

Related: Some changes in GATE 2009 you should take note

Concentrated Effort

How to accelerate your tools learning? It can be any tool, today I am going to share a technique that has enabled me to master many computer languages and tools in a very short span of time. Yes this is one technique that is the core in all that I have learnt so far. The technique is so powerful that rewards are 100% if its applied correctly.

The basic premise is total 100% concentrated effort towards THE TOOL. By concentrated I mean concentrated like sulfuric acid. The main word is concentrated. Concentrated not as in concentration. Concentrated like when your brain refuses to accept any more information or inputs but you force it and carry on with the tool. Concentrated as there is nothing else apart from this. 

Well why this technique works perhaps it works because you are fully focused on the tool You might not see the benefit immediately but your concentration will push your brains limit and will make you understand more. This is what I did in my latest tool learning experience. 

Although I have already explained the process here, what I didn’t mention was that for the last 10 days I am working on that particular software 8 hours straight with lunch break of course. I am compressing my every bit of my time on the tool. Its not that I am repeating all the same problems yes I am repeating the tutorials but every time I am doing one tutorial I am applying all the things that I have learnt from the previous tutorial. My tutorials are connected and they are not pockets of island now but a series of inter connected activities. If I learnt the technique of defining groups, I am utilizing it in all my next tutorials even its not mentioned, if I learnt the technique of sectioning and drawing graphs for stresses span wise for the compressor blades I am creating those contour maps for all tutorial even if they don’t mention them.

Sometime since I have done so many times, my mind is making me explore different things that I am not sure what they are but exploration is revealing them. All this concentrated single minded focus on the tool is making my mind to catch up things better and understand the feel of the software faster. Yes the software is vast and i don’t expect to learn it all in few days.

One of the interesting thing that I have seen coming up in all this is that, when I catch a new word or phase on the menu, chances are that I already have a vague idea of what it does or I know where exactly it is used and where I can dig more. So the takeaway for anyone form this is that after the preliminary investigation and facts gathering mission delve deep and begin a concentrated effort.. focus on the methods and the process. Don’t worry about the results and how they look, the mission here is to get an overall feel and to soften the soil of your brain to well receive the seeds of the tool.

The technique can be applied to learning new programming language, new software tool from a cad program to an analysis tool. If you apply similar or this technique in your area of work profession or play, do let me know in the comments. Or if a different approaches work for you then also chip in your comment.

Happy Republic day!

Happy republic day

Happy republic day. Its the 60 republic day that we are celebrating. So what's your plan?

Don't let this opportunity pass? Do something that you have never done before. Keep it small. It may be begining your own blog or writing down your goals or it can simply mean deciding to spend at least 15 mins on one skill building exercise.

Happy republic day!

UG

Last night as I was looking at the aerospace jobs that naukri.com sends me every week, I noticed a queer stuff. Out of 9 jobs it listed, 5 of design requirement mentioned UG or unigraphics as the CAD program of choice.

So this made me think about the post I did regarding who is most popular in Indian aerospace scene catia solid works or ug? It seems like UG is the choicest CAD program now seeing by the job listing.

Is it true or its just an abrasion. Do tell me how many UG related jobs have you encountered recently. I know GE is using Unigraphics and there are many others firms using it.

Do tell us what you mostly use in your organization? Does UG figures in your organization?

Read More

Tools Used By Aerospace Engineers!!

All about Catia on my aesi

Learn more about Unigraphics here

Attitude determines your Altitude

Regardless of what marks you have or what percentage you have scored in your degree. Its your attitude that will define the placement you get. The companies you work for or the work you do.

Yes you have heard this many times but nevertheless its true. Countless good marks students lay barren while many with average percentage are in great positions. What separates them is the attitude, the thought process behind there actions. The positive attitude behind their actions.

Mr. B, I know, is an average student of AeSI but now he is in a managerial position and doing very well, same goes a Mr. M. I know he was casual in his studies and was the most fun loving guy I saw but  now he is the envy of many of his friends.

Both of them were average students and didn’t had the brightest marks in the subjects of AeSI, but what both of them share is the risk taking appetite, gala for life and a positive attitude.

The difference between average and exceptional is in the thinking. so always remember the dictum 'your attitude will determine your altitude'